Art For Beginners

Understanding art means understanding the way images shape our views of ourselves and of the world. Art for Beginners discusses artwork as a record of everyday life, historic events, and the imagination. It introduces readers to individual artists, various genres, specific uses of materials, and theories of composition. It is especially useful to understand the modernist movements, with its complex theories and ideas. The inclusion of philosophies, by "name-brand" philosophers; furthermore, helps the reader to tie the concepts together. The closing pages address art's role as a commodity in consumer culture, and a glossary defines key movements, techniques, and styles.

The Body For Beginners

All societies create images of the body to define themselves and to establish structures of power, knowledge, meaning, and desire. This book looks at current thought about the body from a range of perspectives. From the phenomenological school (Merleau-Ponty) to current issues in cognitive science (Lakoff and Johnson's Philosophy in the Flesh), we are wrestling with the question: what does it mean for us to be embodied, and how must this affect our view of reality and what we can say about reality and ourselves? All this is dealt with in a funny and easy to read way in Cavallaro's book.

Bukowski for Beginners

Polimeni and Rep have written/illustrated a nice overview and history of Charles Bukowski's life and work. Bukowski for Beginners, evaluates the life and literary achievements of the 'cult writer' whose voice of dissidence and discontent is still being heard and appreciated by readers worldwide. Since Charles Bukowski's death in 1994, his works, which are equally noted for their cynicism and their humor, have reached ever-larger audiences. He is the author of 45 books of essays, poetry, and fiction, including Betting on the Muse and Ham on Rye.

Che For Beginners

Che Guevara for Beginners recounts the life of this Argentinean doctor and self-proclaimed "Latin American patriot." The film Evita has piqued the curiosity of a new generation--and Che Guevara for Beginners is the ideal choice not only to satisfy that curiosity, but to reveal Che's importance. Although "Che for Beginners" is published in a comic book format, the book does provide a (very) basic grounding in the story of Ernesto "Che" Guevara, which may be a good starting point for the uninitiated. As line drawings go, the artwork is great for helping the reader to visualize the story.

Chomsky For Beginners

Noam Chomsky is a noted linguist and media critic, is the most quoted author on earth, and has one of the most dropped names on earth. So why don’t you (or the name-droppers) know more about him? Noam Chomsky’s message is very simple: Huge corporations run our country, the world, both political parties, and the major media. Chomsky For Beginners fills you in on the man, the myth, the legend, in a humorous and insightful presentation. Plus, as a bonus, the author has included an exclusive interview with the maverick genius. So, the next time you happen to get caught dropping his name and someone asks who he is, you can answer with confidence.

Derrida For Beginners

Since 1968, in coffeehouses around the world, intellectuals have been talking about Jacques Derrida and Deconstruction. Jim Powell has written the most lucid introduction available on this important philosopher, whose abstruse mode of philosophizing remains incomprehensible to even the best-educated minds. Speaking tours. "Derrida For Beginners" concentrates on developing the key concept of "differance" and defining the necessary Derridian terminology used to communicate its meaning. The book clearly defines, "binary opposites", "texts", "logocentricism" etc.. and has plenty of diagram's to help you get the idea.

English Language For Beginners

This is an open, easy to understand and funny book that allows Ben Graham's fine drawings to complement the intelligent text. Traces the development of English over time and distance, explores language acquisition, and profiles gender and power in language. Lowe and Graham give accurate and detailed information on the theories of how the English Language developed stemming from the ancestral roots of pre-literate societies to Greek, Latin, Old English to the modern vernacular. Simply written, the authors theron look into language and society and how it affects the minds of the people, in particular race and sex. Lowe and Graham do investigate whether the language does indeed repress minorities, leaving, for the most part, for the reader to decide if this is true or not.

Fanon For Beginners

Dr Wyrick's book is useful for all interested in post-colonial literature or African American/Caribbean history. Philosopher, psychoanalyst, politician, prophet Frantz Fanon (1925-1961) was one of this century's most influential writers on race and revolution. Author Deborah Wyrick examines Fanon's influence on political practice, outlines his views on literary theory and postcolonial studies, and traces his heroic involvement in the fights for Algerian independence and African decolonization. Illustrated throughout.

Food for Beginners

This is not a cookbook. It contains food for thought and the recipes of power.

800 million people live under the constant threat of famine. Most are food producing peasants in the Third World. The baffling question is: why are so many food producers, rather than we, their consumer, the first to go hungry?

Susan George takes a cold, clear look at the facts and myths of food production, and provides answers. She consider its history, from its origin 10,000 years ago to the Global Supermarket of today. Cliches and half-truths about over-population, climate and inefficient farming, usually given as the reason for Third World hunger, are discarded. She expose the ruthless game of multinational agri-business, the methods of new Malthusianism and neo-colonialism. She unmasks pious aid programmes and reveals the basis of further exploitaiton.

FOOD FOR BEGINNERS is a disturbing book: the facts are grim, the picture bleak. But the wit, sheer logic and force of this documentary comicbook, point beyond despair to justice.

Foucault For Beginners

Michel Foucault’s work has profoundly affected the teaching of such diverse disciplines as literary criticism, criminology, and gender studies. Arguing that definitions of abnormal behavior are culturally constructed, Foucault explored the unfair divisions between those who meet and those who deviate from social norms. In Foucault For Beginners, the reader will discover Foucault’s deeply visual sense of scenes such as ritual public executions. This was a great introduction to Foucault's general theories, and it included brief synopses of specific works. The writing style is quick-to-the-point and full of light humor, and the comic book style added to this feeling.

Freud For Beginners

Freud for Beginners is a perfect introduction to the life and thought of the man whose discovery of psychoanalysis revolutionized our attitudes towards mental illness, religion, sex, and culture. This documentary cartoon book plunges us into the world of late-nineteenth-century Vienna in which Freud grew up. We explore his early background in science, his work as a therapist, his encounter with cocaine, and his theories on the unconscious, dreams, the Oedipus Complex, and sexuality. This book, in addition to being very informative, is also incredibly funny. Very well written and drawn; though in the form of a comic book, it is nevertheless a splendid introduction to Freud's life and work.

Garcia Lorca for Beginners

Lorca was one of the most influential and talented members of the avant-garde movement of his generation.His chilling and compelling drama Blood Wedding established him as the dramatist who revived Spanish-speaking theatre.Garcia Lorca for Beginners analyses Lorca's work within the context of his life-a life filled with passion and drama.

The books in this series deal with a vast and diverse range of subjects—history, philosophy, current events, visual arts, music, literature, culture studies and science. For Beginners offers inquisitive readers intelligent, accessible introductions to the major thinkers and ideas of our time. These complex subjects are presented with clarity and simplicity. The books are reader-friendly: comic strips, photographs, cartoons, illustrations etc. are used creatively, to both convey information and to comment on the subjects.

Garcia Marquez for Beginners

Nober Prize-winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez is Latin America’s most powerful literary symbol. In three decades, his novel One Hundred Years of Solitude has sold over twenty million copies in more that thirty languages, to become the most famous and widely-read novel in Spanish since Cervantes’ Don Quixote.
Garcia Marquez for Beginners introduces readers to the man and his ‘magical realism’ a style that expresses Latin American life and culture in many different layers of human perception.

Gestalt for Beginners

Gestalt is a German word meaning form or shape. Gestalt Therapy takes a holistic approach to healing and personal growth.It is a form of experiential psychology that focusses on the elements of the here and now .The purpose of Gestalt Therapy is to teach people to work through and complete unresolved problems.Clients learn to follow their own ongoing process and to fully experience,accept and appreciate their complete selves.Gestalt for Beginners details the birth of the therapy,investigates the complex life of its creator Fitz Peris,and describes his revolutionary techniques.The author also demonstrates why Gestalt Therapy is an ideal approach to self-affirmation and personal growth. The books in this series deal with a vast and diverse range of subjects—history, philosophy, current events, visual arts, music, literature, culture studies and science. For Beginners offers inquisitive readers intelligent, accessible introductions to the major thinkers and ideas of our time. These complex subjects are presented with clarity and simplicity.

Heidegger for Beginners

The German philosopher Martin Heidegger is one of the most revolutionary thinkers in the History of Western Philospophy. Heidegger For Beginners serves as a simple introduction to Heidegger's complex central ideas like - Being, Nothingness, Care, Existense etc. This book situates Heidegger's thought within a philosophical and historical context-alongside such thinkers as Plato,Descartes,Kant,Nietzsche and Sartre. The ideas of the German philosopher Martin Heidegger have been described as an intellectual time bomb, as some of the most revolutionary thought in western history. Despite the enormous amount of secondary scholarship available on Heidegger, it is–due to the complexity of his thought and the density of his writing–difficult for the curious beginner to gain an insight into Heidegger’s philosophy. Heidegger For Beginners serves as an entry into the ideas of one of the 20th century’s most important thinkers, situating Heidegger’s thought within its philosophical and historical context–alongside such thinkers as Plato, Descartes, Kant, Nietzsche, Husserl and Sartre.

The History of Cinema For Beginners

The author of this Beginners book, unlike most in that series, not only has a real love of the subject, but a comprehensive understanding of its history.This book covers not just cinema, but also foreign cinema, America, Russian and just about every country that released a film. It takes a great deal of knowledge to create such simple gestures. The book is filled with terse encapsulations of a vast number of films from the nineteenth century to 1998 including hundreds of hilarious little cartoons. An in-depth, illustrated look at "the liveliest art" that enlightens and entertains, this "For Beginners" book spans over 100 years of film history, including its invention.

Islam For Beginners

This unique combination of text and illustration introduces the faith and culture of Muslims from the seventh century to the present. Intellectually compelling and visually striking, this book will help both students and interested lay readers to better understand the history and contemporary impact of one of the great religions of the world. This book is as it advertises, a basic introduction to Islam. It touches on the foundations of the religion and some key people who need to be known in order to understand Islam. Also looks at Islamic culture. Very basic, it makes an easy read. However, it only serves as a basic introduction and a more thorough book should be read if it turns out to be a subject you are really interested in. Illustrated with drawings, but these don't add much to the overall product.

Jung For Beginners

Carl Gustav Jung merged Eastern mysticism with Western psychology, brought scientific respectability to religion, laid the foundation for 'the New Age', and is second only to Freud in influence and importance. So it is easy to see why some people consider him a genius. But others...

Put it this way: Some people are so good that all we can do is look up to them. He was a great man who made great mistakes. The two most (in) famous events in Jung's life were his break with Freud and his sojourn with the Nazis. Most books on Jung minimize his Nazi period. Author and psychologist Jon Plantania, finds nazism too hideous to minimize, so he tells this part of the story without pulling any punches

Platania then takes us on a tour to the work that made Jung one fo the Pillars of modern psychology. And what a body of work it is! Jung's open-mindedness was astonishing Wherever he went - Calcutta, Egypt, Palestine, Kenya - Jung learned something that expanded his views. His open-ended psychology incorporated yoga, meditation, prayer, alchemy, mythology, astrology, numerology, the I ching - even flying saucers! he taught us that psychology and religion can not only coexist peacefully together, but that thet can enhance us, inspire us, and help us complete ourselves.

Kierkegaard for Beginners

The Danish Philosopher Soren Kierkegaard was one of the most original thinkers of the nineteenth century and one of the most enigmatic men who ever walked the earth.

Philosophically, Kierkegaard was the "bridge" that led from Hegel to Existentialism. Kierkegaard abhorred Hegel's abstract, know-it-all idealism that tried to capture reality in a few words. Kierkegaard's attack on social and religious complacency and his single-handed assault on traditional Western philosophy generated a crisis that produced a redically new way of philosophizing and made him the founder of the school that would later be called Existentialism. To Kiergegaard, reality was personal, subjective-it began and ended with the individual-and philosophy was not something one merely talked about, it was the way you lived.

For such a brilliant thinker, the way Kierkegaard lived was...somewhat too interesting? His "abstract" love affair? His obsesssion with death? His "leap of Faith", his cynicism, his marvellous sense of humour-how do you put all that into one man?

Lacan For Beginners

Lacan's psychoanalytical theories and practices are the most important since Freud's, yet Lacan spoke and wrote with an obscure and almost impenetrable style that makes references to many technical disciplines, including philosophy, linguistics, and mathematics--and his ideas changed over the years. Lacan for Beginners introduces readers to a largely chronological development of Lacan's theories and their relation to clinical practice. Even among French philosophers Lacan has a reputation for being impenetrable; folks who attended his lectures sometimes were unsure what language he was speaking! A very useful introduction to the world of an complex and brilliant thinker.

Mao For Beginners

This book is a pretty good introduction to Mao and the history of modern China. It actually seems to focus more on the history of modern China than Mao. Unlike other volumes in this series, the graphics in this book do not make fun of their subject, but neither do they help to remember the subject any more than just the text does. Overall, I'd say if you have an interest in how China got to be the way it is today, than this book would be a good one to pick up.

Marilyn for Beginners

In Marilyn for Beginners, Marilyn speaks for herself—to her psychologist, to a reporter, and ultimately to the reader of this book. Marilyn's story begins with her childhood, made easy and insecure by her unstable mother. She then traces her rise to stardom, progressing through the murky realities of the Hollywood Dream Factory and the heavy price she paid for fame and fortune. Marilyn also discusses her life achievements and her struggle to reclaim her personality and to be her own person.

Martial Arts For Beginners

Presenting an overview of the martial arts--their history, cultural importance, characteristics, and technique--this book discusses martial arts in general terms, especially the training and discipline which they all have in common, and the metamorphosis every martial artist must make, from the external to the internal. Covers T'ai Chi Ch'uan, Aikido, Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Kempo, and more. Martial Arts For Beginners also makes a distinction between martial arts for competition, spiritual development, and learning how to fight. It includes practical information like when an experienced martial artist can know it's time for a new teacher, and how to interview prospective instructors before committing to one. Martial Arts For Beginners shows how mind-skills for successful living are develop from the right kind of martial arts.

Nietzsche for Beginners

Not only does Nietzsche for Beginners delve into the scandalous life and considerable works of Friedrich Nietzsche, it also gives a clear picture of the puzzling time in which he lived. We meet the Luminaries of the day—Richard Wagner, Bismarck, Frued, and Darwin, and see their influence on his work.

Philosophy For Beginners

Why does philosophy give some people a headache, others a real buzz and yet others a feeling that it is subversive and dangerous? Why do a lot of people think philosophy is totally irrelevant? What is philosophy anyway?

The ABCs of philosophy-easy to understand but never simplistic.

Beginning with basic questions posed by the ancient Greeks: What is the world made of? What is man? What is knowledge? What is good and evil? this guide traces the development of these questions as the key to understanding how Western philosophy developed over the last 2,500 years.

Plato For Beginners

All philosophy is a footnote to Plato. No other person so shaped the Western world and the way we think about it. Plato’s questions remain as real for us today as they were 2500 years ago, and as human beings, we can not avoid their presence nor shirk our responsibility to attempt to answer them: What is Justice? What is Truth? What is Beauty? What kind of society should we build? How do we know what we know? Plato For Beginners introduces the reader to Socrates, Plato’s mentor whose martyrdom led Plato to formulate a new system of knowledge based on reason. Socrates was found guilty and sentenced to death for introducing other divinities. He was also found guilty of corrupting youth. Plato For Beginners also covers the history of Greece as well as the life and ideas of this great philosopher and his influence over time, from early Christianity to the 20th century. The reader learns what he meant by Truth, Beauty, and the Good. Classical dialogues such as Symposium, Phaedo, The Apology and The Republic are all explored in the context of his time and our own.

Postmodernism For Beginners

Although no one knows exactly what postmodernism is, Postmodernism for Beginners gives a perfectly clear explanation of the subject. Author Jim Powell describes postmodernism as a series of "maps" that helps people find their way through a changing world. For reinforcement, he cites views from modern thinkers from Foucault to Guattari. Illustrated throughout. The author manages to maintain sufficient detachment from his subject to provide perspective and levity while at the same time taking it seriously enough to provide a substantial explanation of the causes and symptoms of postmodernism, a decoding of its formidable jargon, and a lucid explication of difficult writers such as Baudrillard and Jameson. He also addresses key questions such as the difference between modernism and postmodernism, post-structuralism and post-modernism (let me put it this way: the former "reads" the text of verbal signs, or words; the latter reads the text of visual signs, or images).

Saussure For Beginners

A concise, accessible introduction to the great linguist who shaped the study of language for the 20th century, Saussure for Beginners puts the challenging ideas of Ferdinand de Saussure into clear and illuminating terms, focusing on the unifying principles of his teachings and showing how his thoughts on linguistics migrated to anthropology. Cartoons & photos throughout. This is an excellent book, yet the relationships between Saussure's linguistics and various other systems of meaning are not brought out well. This is arguably what Saussure has become most famous for.

Shakespeare For Beginners

Despite the reshifting of values that has affected every aspect of life in the 21st century, William Shakespeare still stands as the greatest writer the English language has ever produced. Even so, many people have never read him. If you have never read “the Bard”–or if you’ve tried and given up in frustration–you need Shakespeare For Beginners.

Author Brandon Toropov opens with the observation that Shakespeare’s genius is not in his (or England’s) history, it’s in his words, most notably, his plays–in his brilliant stories, unforgettable characters, and the impossible beauty of his language. So Shakespeare For Beginners skips the historical foreplay and goes straight to Shakespeare’s plays. The book offers clear, concise descriptions and plot summaries of each play; it lists key phrases and important themes, explains the main ideas behind each work and features excerpt of important passages (with explanatory notes on tough words.) And it is the only ‘entry level’ book available outside Great Britain that covers all of Shakespeare’s plays.

Zen For Beginners

Zen from its foundation in China of the 6th Century AD, has always been more than a religion. It is an intriguing system of principles and practice designed to give each individual the experience of eternity in a split second, the knowledge of divinity in every living thing. To create a book about Zen, however, is risky. It is one thing to describe the factual history of this exotic strain of Buddhism. It’s quite another to successfully convey the crazy wisdom of the Zen masters, their zany sense of their uncanny ability to pass on the experience of enlightenment to their students. The authors of Zen For Beginners have clearly overcome these considerable risks. The books uses an engaging mix of clear, informative writing and delightful illustrations to document the story of Zen from its impact on Chinese and Japanese culture to its influence on American writers such as Japanese culture to its influence on American writers such as Ginsberg and Kerouac.